Extractive distillation of crude alcohol product

ABSTRACT

Recovery of ethanol from a crude ethanol product obtained from the hydrogenation of acetic acid using an extractive distillation column. The column yields a first residue that comprises ethanol, ethyl acetate, acetic acid, and water. The first residue is separated in a second column to yield a second distillate comprising ethanol and ethyl acetate. The second distillate is then separated in a third column to yield a third distillate comprising ethyl acetate and a third residue comprising ethanol.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. App. No. 61/566,442, filed onDec. 2, 2011, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.13/094,588, filed on Apr. 26, 2011 and U.S. application Ser. No.13/162,034, filed on Jun. 16, 2011, the entireties of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to processes for producingethanol from acetic acid in a hydrogenation reactor and, in particular,to an extractive distillation process for recovering ethanol.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Ethanol for industrial use is conventionally produced from organic feedstocks, such as petroleum oil, natural gas, or coal, from feed stockintermediates, such as syngas, or from starchy materials or cellulosicmaterials, such as corn or sugar cane. Conventional methods forproducing ethanol from organic feed stocks, as well as from cellulosicmaterials, include the acid-catalyzed hydration of ethylene, methanolhomologation, direct alcohol synthesis, and Fischer-Tropsch synthesis.Instability in organic feed stock prices contributes to fluctuations inthe cost of conventionally produced ethanol, making the need foralternative sources of ethanol production all the greater when feedstock prices rise. Starchy materials, as well as cellulosic material,are converted to ethanol by fermentation. However, fermentation istypically used for consumer production of ethanol, which is suitable forfuels or human consumption. In addition, fermentation of starchy orcellulosic materials competes with food sources and places restraints onthe amount of ethanol that can be produced for industrial use.

Ethanol production via the reduction of alkanoic acids and/or othercarbonyl group-containing compounds has been widely studied, and avariety of combinations of catalysts, supports, and operating conditionshave been mentioned in the literature. During the reduction of alkanoicacid, e.g., acetic acid, other compounds are formed with ethanol or areformed in side reactions. These impurities limit the production andrecovery of ethanol from such reaction mixtures. For example, duringhydrogenation, esters are produced that together with ethanol and/orwater form azeotropes, which are difficult to separate. In addition whenconversion is incomplete, unreacted acid remains in the crude ethanolproduct, which must be removed to recover ethanol.

EP2060553 describes a process for converting hydrocarbons to ethanolinvolving converting the hydrocarbons to ethanoic acid and hydrogenatingthe ethanoic acid to ethanol. The stream from the hydrogenation reactoris separated to obtain an ethanol stream and a stream of acetic acid andethyl acetate, which is recycled to the hydrogenation reactor.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,842,844 describes a process for improving selectivityand catalyst activity and operating life for the conversion ofhydrocarbons to ethanol and optionally acetic acid in the presence of aparticulate catalyst, said conversion proceeding via a syngas generationintermediate step.

Others have proposed various extractive agents for separating mixturesof ethanol, ethyl acetate and water. U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,123 describes aprocess for separating ethanol from water using extractive agents. U.S.Pat. Nos. 4,379,028 and 4,569,726 describe processes for recoveringethyl acetate from an ethyl acetate/ethanol/water mixture usingextractive agents. U.S. Pat. No. 6,375,807 describes a method ofseparating ethanol and ethyl acetate using extractive agents.

The need remains for improved processes for recovering ethanol from acrude product obtained by reducing alkanoic acids, such as acetic acid,and/or other carbonyl group-containing compounds.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first embodiment, the present invention is directed to a processfor producing ethanol comprising the steps of hydrogenating acetic acidfrom an acetic acid feed stream in a reactor to form a crude ethanolproduct, and separating at least a portion of the crude ethanol productin a first column in the presence of one or more extractive agentsselected from a group consisting of water, dimethylsulfoxide, glycerine,diethylene glycol, 1-naphthol, hydroquinone, N,N′-dimethylformamide,1,4-butanediol, ethylene glycol-1,5-pentanediol; propyleneglycol-tetraethylene glycol-polyethylene glycol; glycerine-propyleneglycol-tetraethylene glycol-1,4-butanediol, ethyl ether, methyl formate,cyclohexane, N,N′dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine,N,N′-dimethylethylenediamine, diethylene triamine, hexamethylenediamine, 1,3-diaminopentane, and alkylated thiopene, dodecane,tridecane, tetradecane, chlorinated paraffins, and mixtures thereof,into a first distillate comprising acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate and afirst residue comprising ethanol, ethyl acetate, and the one or moreextractive agents. In one embodiment, the first residue may comprisesless than 5 wt. % ethyl acetate. The process further comprisesseparating at least a portion of the first residue in a second column toyield a second distillate comprising ethanol and ethyl acetate and asecond residue comprising the one or more extractive agents, separatingat least a portion of the second distillate to yield a third distillatecomprising ethyl acetate and a third residue comprising ethanol. In oneembodiment at least a portion of the second residue is returned to thefirst column as the one or more extractive agents and the second residuemay comprise less than 30 wt. % acetic acid. In one embodiment, firstdistillate column may operate at a pressure of less than 70 kPa, e.g.,less than 50 kPa, or less than 20 kPa.

In a second embodiment, the present invention is directed to a processfor producing ethanol comprising the steps of providing a crude ethanolproduct comprising ethanol, acetic acid, ethyl acetate, acetaldehyde,and water, separating at least a portion of the crude ethanol product ina first column in the presence of one or more extractive agents into afirst distillate comprising acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate and a firstresidue comprising ethanol, ethyl acetate, and the one or moreextractive agents, separating the first residue in a second column toyield a second distillate comprising ethanol and ethyl acetate and asecond residue comprising the one or more extractive agents, andseparating at least a portion of the second distillate to yield a thirddistillate comprising ethyl acetate and a third residue comprisingethanol.

In a third embodiment, the present invention is directed to a processfor producing ethanol comprising the steps of hydrogenating acetic acidfrom an acetic acid feed stream in a reactor to form a crude ethanolproduct, separating at least a portion of the crude ethanol product in afirst column in the presence of a water extractive agent into a firstdistillate comprising acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate and a first residuecomprising ethanol, water and acetic acid, separating the first residuein a second column to yield a second distillate comprising ethanol and asecond residue comprising water and acetic acid, and recovering ethanolfrom the second distillate.

In one embodiment, the process may comprise separating at least aportion of the second residue to form a water stream and an acetic acidstream. The acetic acid stream may be returned to the reactor and thewater stream returned to the first distillation column as an extractiveagent. The separation of water and acetic acid may use an adsorptionunit, a membrane, a distillation column, and combinations thereof.

In another embodiment, the process further comprises reacting the aceticacid from the second residue with at least one alcohol, preferablymethanol, in an esterification unit to produce at least one ester andwater, and separating the at least one ester from the water to producean ester product stream comprising the at least one ester and a aqueousstream comprising water. The aqueous stream may be returned to the firstdistillation column as an extractive agent.

In a fourth embodiment, the present invention is directed to a processfor producing ethanol comprising the steps of hydrogenating acetic acidfrom an acetic acid feed stream in a reactor to form a crude ethanolproduct, separating at least a portion of the crude ethanol product in afirst column, operating at a pressure of less than 70 kPa, e.g., lessthan 50 kPa, or less than 20 kPa, in the presence of a water extractiveagent into a first distillate comprising acetaldehyde and ethyl acetateand a first residue comprising ethanol, water and acetic acid,separating the first residue in a second column to yield a seconddistillate comprising ethanol and a second residue comprising water andacetic acid, and recovering ethanol from the second distillate.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The invention may be more completely understood in consideration of thefollowing detailed description of various embodiments of the inventionin connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like numeralsdesignate similar parts.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an ethanol production system withdistillation columns to recover the extractive agent from acetic acid inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an ethanol production system withdistillation columns to recover the extractive agent from ethanol inaccordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an ethanol production system withdistillation columns to recover a dilute acid stream that is suitablefor use as an extractive agent in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an ethanol production system withdistillation columns to recover the extractive agent using one or morewater separation devices to separate acetic acid that is returned to thereactor and water that is returned as an extractive agent, in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an ethanol production system withdistillation columns to recover the extractive agent and anesterification unit in accordance with one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an ethanol production system withdistillation columns to recover a dilute acid stream and a furthercolumn for separating ethyl acetate and ethanol, in accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of an ethanol production system similar toFIG. 6, having an esterification unit in a reactive distillation column,in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to processes for recovering ethanolproduced by hydrogenating acetic acid in the presence of a catalyst. Thehydrogenation reaction produces a crude ethanol product that comprisesethanol, water, ethyl acetate, acetic acid, and other impurities. Ethylacetate is difficult to separate from a mixture of ethyl acetate andethanol by distillation because of the closeness in boiling pointsbetween ethyl acetate and ethanol. The presence of other components inthe crude ethanol product such as ethyl acetate, acetic acid andacetaldehyde, depending on concentration, may further complicate theseparation of ethanol and ethyl acetate.

To improve efficiencies in recovering ethanol from the crude ethanolproduct, the processes of the present invention involve recoveringethanol from the crude ethanol product using one or more extractiveagents in an initial (first) separation column. Ethanol, water, andacetic acid are withdrawn as the residue. Ethyl acetate and other lightorganics are withdrawn as the distillate. The presence of the extractiveagents allows the ethanol product to be separated from the ethyl acetateby-product more effectively. Using an extractive agent in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention allows for a majority of theethyl acetate to be recovered from the crude ethanol product.Preferably, at least 90% of the ethyl acetate in the crude ethanolproduct is recovered through the first distillate, e.g., at least 95% ofthe ethyl acetate or at least 98% of the ethyl acetate. Recovering amajority of the ethyl acetate provides for low concentrations of ethylacetate in the residue from the initial column, e.g., less than 1 wt. %,less than 0.3 wt. % or less than 0.01 wt. %. By using one or moreextractive agents, an ethanol product may be recovered having a reducedethyl acetate content. Preferably, at least 50% of the ethanol in thecrude ethanol product is recovered in the first residue stream, and morepreferably at least 90% of the ethanol.

Advantageously, this separation approach using an extractive agentresults in reducing energy requirements to recover ethanol from thecrude ethanol product.

The extractive agent for use in the present invention may vary. Theextractive agent preferably has a boiling point higher than majorcomponents in the distillate. In preferred embodiments, the extractiveagent employed has a boiling point greater than 80° C., e.g., greaterthan 85° C., or greater than 100° C. Extractive agents having boilingpoints greater than 200° C. are also contemplated. A preferredextractive agent comprises water. The water may be produced in thehydrogenation reactor and recycled as the extractive agent. Preferably,at least one of the extractive agents is a co-product of the ethanolproduced by hydrogenation acetic acid. By using a co-product as anextractive agent, the cost of addition and recovery of the extractiveagent may be reduced.

In one embodiment, the co-product is water and the water is purified byremoving ethanol and/or acetic acid. Purifying the water may reduce therecycling of other components that may lead to side reactions in thecolumns. The water may be purified by the using of water separationunits, such as adsorption units or membranes, or an esterification unitthat reacts the acetic acid. The purification of the water also allowsrecovery of acetic acid that may be returned to the reactor.

In another embodiment the co-product water may be part of a dilute acidstream that does not require as intensive purification. Although notlimited to, a dilute acid stream may be preferred when the hydrogenationachieves high conversions of acetic acid, of greater than 80%, greaterthan 90% or greater than 95%. Thus, the dilute acid stream may reducethe overall energy requirements while stilling maintaining an efficientseparation in the initial column. A dilute acid stream may comprise atleast 40 wt. % water, e.g., at least 60 wt. % water or at least 80 wt. %water. The dilute acid stream may comprise acetic acid. For example, theextractive agent may comprise less than 30 wt. % acetic acid, e.g., lessthan 20 wt. %, less than 10 wt. % or less than 5 wt. %. Without beingbound by theory the acetic acid in the dilute acid stream may notnecessarily act as an extractive agent, it may reduce the amount ofethanol, water, and/or acetic acid that is carried over into thedistillate of the initial column.

Other suitable extractive agents may also be used, and may include, forexample, dimethylsulfoxide, glycerine, diethylene glycol, 1-naphthol,hydroquinone, N,N′-dimethylformamide, 1,4-butanediol, ethyleneglycol-1,5-pentanediol; propylene glycol-tetraethyleneglycol-polyethylene glycol; glycerine-propylene glycol-tetraethyleneglycol-1,4-butanediol, ethyl ether, methyl formate, cyclohexane,N,N′dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine, N,N′-dimethylethylenediamine,diethylene triamine, hexamethylene diamine, 1,3-diaminopentane,alkylated thiopene, dodecane, tridecane, tetradecane, chlorinatedparaffins, and mixtures thereof. These other agents may be used withwater. Some suitable extraction agents include those described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 4,379,028; 4,569,726; 5,993,610; and 6,375,807, the entiretiesof which are incorporated herein by reference.

In one embodiment, the extractive agents may be fed to the initialcolumn for processing the crude ethanol product. In another embodiment,the extractive agents are fed to and combined with the crude ethanolproduct prior to being introduced into the initial column. Preferably, asubstantial portion of the ethanol, water, and acetic acid is removedfrom the crude ethanol product as the residue from the initial column.The residue stream, for example, may comprise from 30% to 99.5% of thewater and from 85% to 100% of the acetic acid from the crude ethanolproduct. The residue stream may also comprise the extractive agent,water, and thus the water concentration in the residue may exceed thewater concentration of the crude ethanol product. The extractive agentsmay be recovered from the residue, e.g., in one or more additionalseparation columns, and recycled to the initial column.

Generally, the distillate from the initial column may comprise ethylacetate and acetaldehyde. The distillate may be recycled in whole orpart to the hydrogenation reactor. In some embodiments, the distillatefrom the initial column may also comprise ethanol and preferably lessthan 15 wt. % water, less than 7.5 wt. % water, less 4 wt. % water orless than 2 wt. % water. A further extractive column may be used toremove the ethanol from the distillate. In another embodiment, a lightends column may be used to further separate the distillate into an ethylacetate stream, which is recycled to the hydrogenation reactor, and anethanol stream.

Although the embodiments of the present invention generally reduce theamount of the ethyl acetate in the residue, ethyl acetate may be presentdue to further esterification. Any ethyl acetate in the residue ispreferably separated to yield a purified ethanol stream. Generally, aseparate column may be necessary when the residue comprise at least 50wppm ethyl acetate or if there is esterification. When the ethyl acetateis less than 50 wppm it may not be necessary to use a separate column toseparate ethyl acetate and ethanol. Ethyl acetate separated from theresidue may be returned to the initial column and removed as a firstdistillate. This returned ethyl acetate stream may be fed to the initialcolumn at a point below the extractive agent feed location.

The process of the present invention may be used with any hydrogenationprocess for producing ethanol. The materials, catalysts, reactionconditions, and separation processes that may be used in thehydrogenation of acetic acid are described further below.

The raw materials, acetic acid and hydrogen, used in connection with theprocess of this invention may be derived from any suitable sourceincluding natural gas, petroleum, coal, biomass, and so forth. Asexamples, acetic acid may be produced via methanol carbonylation,acetaldehyde oxidation, ethylene oxidation, oxidative fermentation, andanaerobic fermentation. Methanol carbonylation processes suitable forproduction of acetic acid are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,208,624;7,115,772; 7,005,541; 6,657,078; 6,627,770; 6,143,930; 5,599,976;5,144,068; 5,026,908; 5,001,259; and 4,994,608, the entire disclosuresof which are incorporated herein by reference. Optionally, theproduction of ethanol may be integrated with such methanol carbonylationprocesses.

As petroleum and natural gas prices fluctuate becoming either more orless expensive, methods for producing acetic acid and intermediates suchas methanol and carbon monoxide from other carbon sources have drawnincreasing interest. In particular, when petroleum is relativelyexpensive, it may become advantageous to produce acetic acid fromsynthesis gas (“syngas”) that is derived from more available carbonsources. U.S. Pat. No. 6,232,352, the entirety of which is incorporatedherein by reference, for example, teaches a method of retrofitting amethanol plant for the manufacture of acetic acid. By retrofitting amethanol plant, the large capital costs associated with CO generationfor a new acetic acid plant are significantly reduced or largelyeliminated. All or part of the syngas is diverted from the methanolsynthesis loop and supplied to a separator unit to recover CO, which isthen used to produce acetic acid. In a similar manner, hydrogen for thehydrogenation step may be supplied from syngas.

In some embodiments, some or all of the raw materials for theabove-described acetic acid hydrogenation process may be derivedpartially or entirely from syngas. For example, the acetic acid may beformed from methanol and carbon monoxide, both of which may be derivedfrom syngas. The syngas may be formed by partial oxidation reforming orsteam reforming, and the carbon monoxide may be separated from syngas.Similarly, hydrogen that is used in the step of hydrogenating the aceticacid to form the crude ethanol product may be separated from syngas. Thesyngas, in turn, may be derived from a variety of carbon sources. Thecarbon source, for example, may be selected from the group consisting ofnatural gas, oil, petroleum, coal, biomass, and combinations thereof.Syngas or hydrogen may also be obtained from bio-derived methane gas,such as bio-derived methane gas produced by landfills or agriculturalwaste.

Biomass-derived syngas has a detectable ¹⁴C isotope content as comparedto fossil fuels such as coal or natural gas. An equilibrium forms in theEarth's atmosphere between constant new formation and constantdegradation, and so the proportion of the ¹⁴C nuclei in the carbon inthe atmosphere on Earth is constant over long periods. The samedistribution ratio n¹⁴C:n¹²C ratio is established in living organisms asis present in the surrounding atmosphere, which stops at death and ¹⁴Cdecomposes at a half life of about 6000 years. Methanol, acetic acidand/or ethanol formed from biomass-derived syngas would be expected tohave a ¹⁴C content that is substantially similar to living organisms.For example, the ¹⁴C:¹²C ratio of the methanol, acetic acid and/orethanol may be from one half to about 1 of the ¹⁴C:¹²C ratio for livingorganisms. In other embodiments, the syngas, methanol, acetic acidand/or ethanol described herein are derived wholly from fossil fuels,i.e. carbon sources produced over 60,000 years ago, may have nodetectable ¹⁴C content.

In another embodiment, the acetic acid used in the hydrogenation stepmay be formed from the fermentation of biomass. The fermentation processpreferably utilizes an acetogenic process or a homoacetogenicmicroorganism to ferment sugars to acetic acid producing little, if any,carbon dioxide as a by-product. The carbon efficiency for thefermentation process preferably is greater than 70%, greater than 80% orgreater than 90% as compared to conventional yeast processing, whichtypically has a carbon efficiency of about 67%. Optionally, themicroorganism employed in the fermentation process is of a genusselected from the group consisting of Clostridium, Lactobacillus,Moorella, Thermoanaerobacter, Propionibacterium, Propionispera,Anaerobiospirillum, and Bacteriodes, and in particular, species selectedfrom the group consisting of Clostridium formicoaceticum, Clostridiumbutyricum, Moorella thermoacetica, Thermoanaerobacter kivui,Lactobacillus delbrukii, Propionibacterium acidipropionici,Propionispera arboris, Anaerobiospirillum succinicproducens, Bacteriodesamylophilus and Bacteriodes ruminicola. Optionally in this process, allor a portion of the unfermented residue from the biomass, e.g., lignans,may be gasified to form hydrogen that may be used in the hydrogenationstep of the present invention. Exemplary fermentation processes forforming acetic acid are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,509,180 and U.S.Pub. Nos. 2008/0193989 and 2009/0281354, the entireties of which areincorporated herein by reference.

Examples of biomass include, but are not limited to, agriculturalwastes, forest products, grasses, and other cellulosic material, timberharvesting residues, softwood chips, hardwood chips, tree branches, treestumps, leaves, bark, sawdust, off-spec paper pulp, corn, corn stover,wheat straw, rice straw, sugarcane bagasse, switchgrass, miscanthus,animal manure, municipal garbage, municipal sewage, commercial waste,grape pumice, almond shells, pecan shells, coconut shells, coffeegrounds, grass pellets, hay pellets, wood pellets, cardboard, paper,plastic, and cloth. Another biomass source is black liquor, is anaqueous solution of lignin residues, hemicellulose, and inorganicchemicals.

U.S. Pat. No. RE 35,377, also incorporated herein by reference, providesa method for the production of methanol by conversion of carbonaceousmaterials such as oil, coal, natural gas and biomass materials. Theprocess includes hydrogasification of solid and/or liquid carbonaceousmaterials to obtain a process gas which is steam pyrolized withadditional natural gas to form syngas. The syngas is converted tomethanol which may be carbonylated to acetic acid. The method likewiseproduces hydrogen which may be used in connection with this invention asnoted above. U.S. Pat. No. 5,821,111, which discloses a process forconverting waste biomass through gasification into synthesis gas, andU.S. Pat. No. 6,685,754, which discloses a method for the production ofa hydrogen-containing gas composition, such as a syngas includinghydrogen and carbon monoxide, are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

Acetic acid fed to the hydrogenation reactor may also comprise othercarboxylic acids and anhydrides, as well as acetaldehyde and acetone.Preferably, a suitable acetic acid feed stream comprises one or more ofthe compounds selected from the group consisting of acetic acid, aceticanhydride, acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate, and mixtures thereof. Theseother compounds may also be hydrogenated in the processes of the presentinvention. In some embodiments, the presence of carboxylic acids, suchas propanoic acid or its aldehyde, may be beneficial in producingpropanol. Water may also be present in the acetic acid feed.Alternatively, acetic acid in vapor form may be taken directly as crudeproduct from the flash vessel of a methanol carbonylation unit of theclass described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,657,078, the entirety of which isincorporated herein by reference. The crude vapor product, for example,may be fed directly to the ethanol synthesis reaction zones of thepresent invention without the need for condensing the acetic acid andlight ends or removing water, saving overall processing costs.

The acetic acid may be vaporized at the reaction temperature, followingwhich the vaporized acetic acid may be fed along with hydrogen in anundiluted state or diluted with a relatively inert carrier gas, such asnitrogen, argon, helium, carbon dioxide and the like. For reactions runin the vapor phase, the temperature should be controlled in the systemso that it does not fall below the dew point of acetic acid. In oneembodiment, the acetic acid may be vaporized at the boiling point ofacetic acid at the particular pressure, and then the vaporized aceticacid may be further heated to the reactor inlet temperature. In anotherembodiment, the acetic acid is mixed with other gases before vaporizing,followed by heating the mixed vapors up to the reactor inlettemperature. Preferably, the acetic acid is transferred to the vaporstate by passing hydrogen and/or recycle gas through the acetic acid ata temperature at or below 125° C., followed by heating of the combinedgaseous stream to the reactor inlet temperature.

Some embodiments of the process of hydrogenating acetic acid to formethanol may include a variety of configurations using a fixed bedreactor or a fluidized bed reactor. In many embodiments of the presentinvention, an “adiabatic” reactor can be used; that is, there is littleor no need for internal plumbing through the reaction zone to add orremove heat. In other embodiments, a radial flow reactor or reactors maybe employed, or a series of reactors may be employed with or withoutheat exchange, quenching, or introduction of additional feed material.Alternatively, a shell and tube reactor provided with a heat transfermedium may be used. In many cases, the reaction zone may be housed in asingle vessel or in a series of vessels with heat exchangerstherebetween.

In preferred embodiments, the catalyst is employed in a fixed bedreactor, e.g., in the shape of a pipe or tube, where the reactants,typically in the vapor form, are passed over or through the catalyst.Other reactors, such as fluid or ebullient bed reactors, can beemployed. In some instances, the hydrogenation catalysts may be used inconjunction with an inert material to regulate the pressure drop of thereactant stream through the catalyst bed and the contact time of thereactant compounds with the catalyst particles.

The hydrogenation reaction may be carried out in either the liquid phaseor vapor phase. Preferably, the reaction is carried out in the vaporphase under the following conditions. The reaction temperature may rangefrom 125° C. to 350° C., e.g., from 200° C. to 325° C., from 225° C. to300° C., or from 250° C. to 300° C. The pressure may range from 10 kPato 3000 kPa, e.g., from 50 kPa to 2300 kPa, or from 100 kPa to 2100 kPa.The reactants may be fed to the reactor at a gas hourly space velocity(GHSV) from 50 hr⁻¹ to 50,000 hr⁻¹, e.g., from 500 hr⁻¹ to 30,000 hr⁻¹,from 1000 hr⁻¹ to 10,000 hr⁻¹, or from 1000 hr⁻¹ to 6500 hr⁻¹.

Although the reaction consumes two moles of hydrogen per mole of aceticacid to produce one mole of ethanol, the actual molar ratio of hydrogento acetic acid in the feed stream may vary from about 100:1 to 1:100,e.g., from 50:1 to 1:50, from 20:1 to 1:2, or from 18:1 to 2:1.

Contact or residence time can also vary widely, depending upon suchvariables as amount of acetic acid, catalyst, reactor, temperature, andpressure. Typical contact times range from a fraction of a second tomore than several hours when a catalyst system other than a fixed bed isused, with preferred contact times, at least for vapor phase reactions,from 0.1 to 100 seconds.

The hydrogenation of acetic acid to form ethanol is preferably conductedin the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst. Exemplary catalysts arefurther described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,608,744 and 7,863,489 and U.S.Pub. Nos. 2010/0121114 and 2010/0197985, the entireties of which areincorporated herein by reference. In another embodiment, the catalystcomprises a Co/Mo/S catalyst of the type described in U.S. Pub. No.2009/0069609, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.In some embodiments, the catalyst may be a bulk catalyst.

In one embodiment, the catalyst comprises a first metal selected fromthe group consisting of copper, iron, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium,rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, platinum, titanium, zinc, chromium,rhenium, molybdenum, and tungsten. Preferably, the first metal isselected from the group consisting of platinum, palladium, cobalt,nickel, and ruthenium.

As indicated above, in some embodiments, the catalyst further comprisesa second metal, which typically would function as a promoter. Ifpresent, the second metal preferably is selected from the groupconsisting of copper, molybdenum, tin, chromium, iron, cobalt, vanadium,tungsten, palladium, platinum, lanthanum, cerium, manganese, ruthenium,rhenium, gold, and nickel. More preferably, the second metal is selectedfrom the group consisting of copper, tin, cobalt, rhenium, and nickel.

In certain embodiments where the catalyst includes two or more metals,e.g., a first metal and a second metal, the first metal is present inthe catalyst in an amount from 0.1 to 10 wt. %, e.g., from 0.1 to 5 wt.%, or from 0.1 to 3 wt. %. The second metal preferably is present in anamount from 0.1 to 20 wt. %, e.g., from 0.1 to 10 wt. %, or from 0.1 to7.5 wt. %.

Preferred metal combinations for exemplary catalyst compositions includeplatinum/tin, platinum/ruthenium, platinum/rhenium, palladium/ruthenium,palladium/rhenium, cobalt/palladium, cobalt/platinum, cobalt/chromium,cobalt/ruthenium, cobalt/tin, silver/palladium, copper/palladium,copper/zinc, nickel/palladium, gold/palladium, ruthenium/rhenium, orruthenium/iron.

The catalyst may also comprise a third metal selected from any of themetals listed above in connection with the first or second metal, solong as the third metal is different from the first and second metals.In preferred aspects, the third metal is selected from the groupconsisting of cobalt, palladium, ruthenium, copper, zinc, platinum, tin,and rhenium. When present, the total weight of the third metalpreferably is from 0.05 to 20 wt. %, e.g., from 0.1 to 10 wt. %, or from0.1 to 7.5 wt. %. In one embodiment, the catalyst may comprise platinum,tin, and cobalt.

In addition to one or more metals, in some embodiments of the presentinvention the catalysts further comprise a support or a modifiedsupport. As used herein, the term “modified support” refers to a supportthat includes a support material and a support modifier, which adjuststhe acidity of the support material.

The total weight of the support or modified support, based on the totalweight of the catalyst, preferably is from 75 to 99.9 wt. %, e.g., from78 to 99 wt. %, or from 80 to 97.5 wt. %. Preferred supports includesilicaceous supports, such as silica, silica/alumina, a Group IIAsilicate such as calcium metasilicate, pyrogenic silica, high puritysilica, and mixtures thereof. Other supports may include, but are notlimited to, iron oxide, alumina, titania, zirconia, magnesium oxide,carbon, graphite, high surface area graphitized carbon, activatedcarbons, and mixtures thereof.

The support may be a modified support and is present in an amount from0.1 to 50 wt. %, e.g., from 0.2 to 25 wt. %, from 1 to 20 wt. %, or from3 to 15 wt. %, based on the total weight of the catalyst.

In some embodiments, the support modifier may be an acidic modifier thatincreases the acidity of the catalyst. Suitable acidic support modifiersmay be selected from the group consisting of: oxides of Group IVBmetals, oxides of Group VB metals, oxides of Group VIB metals, oxides ofGroup VIIB metals, oxides of Group VIIIB metals, aluminum oxides, andmixtures thereof. Acidic support modifiers include those selected fromthe group consisting of TiO₂, ZrO₂, Nb₂O₅, Ta₂O₅, Al₂O₃, B₂O₃, P₂O₅,Sb₂O₃, WO₃, MoO₃, Fe₂O₃, Cr₂O₃, V₂O₅, MnO₂, CuO, Co₂O₃, and Bi₂O₃.Preferred support modifiers include oxides of tungsten, molybdenum, andvanadium.

In another embodiment, the support modifier may be a basic modifier thathas a low volatility or no volatility. Such basic modifiers, forexample, may be selected from the group consisting of: (i) alkalineearth metal oxides, (ii) alkali metal oxides, (iii) alkaline earth metalmetasilicates, (iv) alkali metal metasilicates, (v) Group IIB metaloxides, (vi) Group IIB metal metasilicates, (vii) Group IIIB metaloxides, (viii) Group IIIB metal metasilicates, and mixtures thereof. Thebasic support modifier may be selected from the group consisting ofoxides and metasilicates of any of sodium, potassium, magnesium,calcium, scandium, yttrium, and zinc, as well as mixtures of any of theforegoing. In one embodiment, the basic support modifier is a calciumsilicate, such as calcium metasilicate (CaSiO₃). The calciummetasilicate may be crystalline or amorphous.

The catalyst compositions suitable for use with the present inventionpreferably are formed through metal impregnation of the modifiedsupport, although other processes such as chemical vapor deposition mayalso be employed. Such impregnation techniques are described in U.S.Pat. Nos. 7,608,744 and 7,863,489 and U.S. Pub. No. 2010/0197485referred to above, the entireties of which are incorporated herein byreference.

After the washing, drying and calcining of the catalyst is completed,the catalyst may be reduced in order to activate the catalyst. Reductionis carried out in the presence of a reducing gas, preferably hydrogen.The reducing gas is continuously passed over the catalyst at an initialambient temperature that is increased up to 400° C. In one embodiment,the reduction is preferably carried out after the catalyst has beenloaded into the reaction vessel where the hydrogenation will be carriedout.

In particular, the hydrogenation of acetic acid may achieve favorableconversion of acetic acid and favorable selectivity and productivity toethanol. For purposes of the present invention, the term “conversion”refers to the amount of acetic acid in the feed that is converted to acompound other than acetic acid. Conversion is expressed as a percentagebased on acetic acid in the feed. The conversion may be at least 40%,e.g., at least 50%, at least 60%, at least 70% or at least 80%. Althoughcatalysts that have high conversions are desirable, such as at least 80%or at least 90%, in some embodiments a low conversion may be acceptableat high selectivity for ethanol.

Selectivity is expressed as a mole percent based on converted aceticacid. It should be understood that each compound converted from aceticacid has an independent selectivity and that selectivity is independentfrom conversion. For example, if 60 mole % of the converted acetic acidis converted to ethanol, we refer to the ethanol selectivity as 60%.Preferably, the catalyst selectivity to ethanol is at least 60%, e.g.,at least 70%, or at least 80%. Preferred embodiments of thehydrogenation process also have low selectivity to undesirable products,such as methane, ethane, and carbon dioxide. The selectivity to theseundesirable products preferably is less than 4%, e.g., less than 2% orless than 1%.

The term “productivity,” as used herein, refers to the grams of aspecified product, e.g., ethanol, formed during the hydrogenation basedon the kilograms of catalyst used per hour. The productivity may rangefrom 100 to 3,000 grams of ethanol per kilogram of catalyst per hour.

In various embodiments of the present invention, the crude ethanolproduct produced by the hydrogenation process, before any subsequentprocessing, such as purification and separation, will typically compriseunreacted acetic acid, ethanol and water. As used herein, the term“crude ethanol product” refers to any composition comprising from 5 to70 wt. % ethanol and from 5 to 40 wt. % water. Exemplary componentsranges of the crude ethanol are provided in Table 1, excluding hydrogen.The “other” components identified in Table 1 may include, for example,esters, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, alkanes, and carbon dioxide.

TABLE 1 CRUDE ETHANOL PRODUCT COMPOSITIONS Conc. Conc. Conc. Conc.Component (wt. %) (wt. %) (wt. %) (wt. %) Ethanol 5 to 72 15 to 72  15to 70 25 to 65 Acetic Acid 0 to 90 0 to 50  0 to 35  0 to 15 Water 5 to40 5 to 30 10 to 30 10 to 26 Ethyl Acetate 0 to 30 1 to 25  3 to 20  5to 18 Acetaldehyde 0 to 10 0 to 3  0.1 to 3   0.2 to 2   Others 0.1 to10   0.1 to 6   0.1 to 4   —

In one embodiment, the crude ethanol product of Table 1 may have lowconcentrations of acetic acid with higher conversion, and the aceticacid concentration may range from 0.01 wt. % to 20 wt. %, e.g., 0.05 wt.% to 15 wt. %, from 0.1 wt. % to 10 wt. % or from 1 wt. % to 5 wt. %. Inembodiments having lower amounts of acetic acid, the conversion ofacetic acid in the reactor is preferably greater than 75%, e.g., greaterthan 85% or greater than 90%. In addition, the selectivity to ethanolmay also be preferably high, and is preferably greater than 75%, e.g.,greater than 85% or greater than 90%.

In one embodiment, the weight ratio of ethanol to water may be at least0.18:1 or greater, e.g., at least 0.5:1 or at least 1:1. In terms ofranges the weight ratio of ethanol to water may be from 0.18:1 to 5:1,e.g., from 0.5:1 to 3:1 or from 1:1 to 2:1. Preferably the crude ethanolproduct has more ethanol than water compared to conventionalfermentation processes of ethanol. In one embodiment, the lower amountsof water may require less energy to separate the ethanol and improvesthe overall efficiency of the process. Thus, in preferred embodiments,the amount of ethanol in the crude ethanol product is from 15 wt. % to70 wt. %, e.g., from 20 wt. % to 70 wt. % or from 25 wt. % to 70 wt. %.Higher ethanol weight percentages are particularly preferred.

Exemplary ethanol recovery systems in accordance with embodiments of thepresent inventions are shown in FIGS. 1-7. Each hydrogenation system 100includes a suitable hydrogenation reactor and a process for separatingethanol from the resulting crude ethanol mixture. System 100 comprisesreaction zone 101 and separation zone 102. FIGS. 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7illustrate exemplary systems that recover purified water that isco-product as the extractive agent. FIGS. 3 and 6 illustrate exemplarysystems that recover a dilute acid stream as the extractive agent.

As shown in FIGS. 1-7, reaction zone 101 comprises reactor 103, hydrogenfeed line 104 and acetic acid feed line 105. Hydrogen and acetic acidare fed to vaporizer 110 via lines 104 and 105, respectively, to createa vapor feed stream in line 111 that is directed to reactor 103. Thefeed to reactor 103 comprises fresh acetic acid. In one embodiment,lines 104 and 105 may be combined and jointly fed to vaporizer 110,e.g., in one stream containing both hydrogen and acetic acid. Thetemperature of the vapor feed stream in line 111 is preferably from 100°C. to 350° C., e.g., from 120° C. to 310° C. or from 150° C. to 300° C.Any feed that is not vaporized is removed from vaporizer 110, via ablowdown stream. In addition, although line 111 is shown as beingdirected to the top of reactor 103, line 111 may be directed to theside, upper portion, or bottom of reactor 103.

Reactor 103 contains the catalyst that is used in the hydrogenation ofthe carboxylic acid, preferably acetic acid, to ethanol. In oneembodiment, one or more guard beds (not shown) may be used upstream ofthe reactor, optionally upstream of vaporizer 110, to protect thecatalyst from poisons or undesirable impurities contained in the feed orreturn/recycle streams. Such guard beds may be employed in vapor stream114 or liquid stream 113. Suitable guard bed materials may include, forexample, carbon, silica, alumina, ceramic, or resins. In one aspect, theguard bed media is functionalized, e.g., silver functionalized, to trapparticular species such as sulfur or halogens. During the hydrogenationprocess, a crude ethanol product is withdrawn, preferably continuously,from reactor 103 via line 112.

The crude ethanol product in line 112 may be condensed and fed to aseparator 106, which, in turn, provides vapor stream 114 and liquidstream 113. Separator 106, for example, may comprise one or moreflashers or knockout pots. Separator 106 may operate at a temperaturefrom 20° C. to 350° C., e.g., from 30° C. to 325° C. or from 60° C. to250° C. The pressure of separator 106 may be from 100 kPa to 3000 kPa,e.g., from 125 kPa to 2500 kPa or from 150 kPa to 2200 kPa. Optionally,the crude ethanol product in line 112 may pass through one or moremembranes to separate hydrogen and/or other non-condensable gases.

Vapor stream 114 exiting separator 106 may comprise hydrogen andhydrocarbons, and may be purged and/or returned to reaction zone 101. Asshown, vapor stream 114 is combined with hydrogen feed 104 and co-fed tovaporizer 110. In some embodiments, the returned vapor stream 114 may becompressed before being combined with hydrogen feed 104.

Liquid stream 113 from separator 106 is withdrawn and pumped to firstcolumn 107, also referred to as an “extractive column.” Liquid stream113 may be heated from ambient temperature to a temperature of up to 70°C., e.g., up to 50° C., or up to 40° C. The additional energy requiredto pre-heat liquid stream 113 above 70° C. does not achieve the desiredenergy efficiency in first column 107 with respect to reboiler duties.In another embodiment, liquid stream 113 is not separately preheated,but is withdrawn from separator 106, and cooled if needed, at atemperature of less than 70° C., e.g., less than 50° C., or less than40° C., and directly fed to first column 107.

In one embodiment, the contents of liquid stream 113 are substantiallysimilar to the crude ethanol product of line 112 obtained from thereactor, except that the composition has been depleted of hydrogen,carbon dioxide, methane and/or ethane, which are preferably removed byseparator 106. Accordingly, liquid stream 113 may also be referred to asa crude ethanol product. Exemplary components of liquid stream 113 areprovided in Table 2. It should be understood that liquid stream 113 maycontain other components, not listed in Table 2.

TABLE 2 FEED COMPOSITION TO COLUMN 107 (Liquid Stream 113) Conc. (wt. %)Conc. (wt. %) Conc. (wt. %) Ethanol 5 to 72 10 to 70  15 to 65 AceticAcid <90 5 to 80  0 to 35 Water 5 to 40 5 to 30 10 to 26 Ethyl Acetate<30 1 to 25  3 to 20 Acetaldehyde <10 0.001 to 3    0.1 to 3   Acetal <50.01 to 5    0.01 to 3   Acetone <5 0.0005 to 0.05   0.001 to 0.03 

The amounts indicated as less than (<) in the tables throughout thepresent application are preferably not present and if present may bepresent in amounts greater than 0.0001 wt. %.

In one embodiment, the ethyl acetate concentration in liquid stream 113may affect first column 107 reboiler duty and size. Decreasing ethylacetate concentrations may allow for reduced reboiler duty and size. Inone embodiment, to reduce the ethyl acetate concentration (a) thecatalyst in reactor may convert ethyl acetate in addition to aceticacid; (b) the catalyst may be less selective for ethyl acetate, and/or(c) the feed to reactor, including recycles, may contain less ethylacetate.

A shown in the figures, liquid stream 113 is introduced in the upperpart of first column 107, e.g., upper half or upper third. As shown, oneor more extractive agents 115, as described above, are also introducedto column 107 to aid with the separation of ethanol from water (andother components). Preferably, extractive agent 115 is recovereddirectly or indirectly from the first residue and recycled back to firstcolumn 107, as shown in the figures, optionally with the addition offresh extractive agent as indicated by 125. Extractive agent 115 ispreferably introduced above the feed point of liquid stream 113.Extractive agent 115 is preferably introduced near the top of column 107and flows downward until it reaches the reboiler. In some embodiments,extractive agent 115 may be heated from ambient temperature to atemperature of up to 70° C., e.g., up to 50° C., or up to 40° C. Inanother embodiment, extractive agent 115 is not separately preheated,but is withdrawn from other columns as shown in the FIGS. 1-7, andcooled, if necessary, to a temperature of less than 70° C., e.g., lessthan 50° C., or less than 40° C., and directly fed to first column 107.As shown in FIG. 6, depending on the ethyl acetate concentration ofethyl acetate recycle stream 147, this stream may be introduced above orbelow the feed point of liquid stream 113. In addition, extractive agent115 may be added above ethyl acetate recycle stream 147. Depending onthe targeted ethyl acetate concentration in the distillate of firstcolumn 107, the feed point of ethyl acetate recycle stream 147 willvary.

Extractive agent 115 preferably comprises water that has been retainedwithin the system. As described herein, extractive agent 115 may beobtained from a portion of the second residue. Extractive agent 115 maybe a dilute acid stream comprising up to 20 wt. % acetic acid, e.g., upto 10 wt. % acetic acid or up to 5 wt. % acetic acid. In one embodiment,the mass flow ratio of water in extractive agent 115 to the mass flow ofliquid stream 113 may range from 0.05:1 to 2:1, e.g., from 0.07 to 0.9:1or from 0.1:1 to 0.7:1. It is preferred that the mass flow of extractiveagent 115 is less than the mass flow of liquid stream 113.

In one embodiment, first column 107 is a tray column having from 5 to 90theoretical trays, e.g. from 10 to 60 theoretical trays or from 15 to 50theoretical trays. The number of actual trays for each column may varydepending on the tray efficiency, which is typically from 0.5 to 0.7depending on the type of tray. The trays may be sieve trays, fixed valvetrays, movable valve trays, or any other suitable design known in theart. In other embodiments, a packed column having structured packing orrandom packing may be employed.

When first column 107 is operated under 50 kPa, the temperature of theresidue exiting in line 116 preferably is from 20° C. to 100° C., e.g.,from 30° C. to 90° C. or from 40° C. to 80° C. The base of column 107may be maintained at a relatively low temperature by withdrawing aresidue stream comprising ethanol, ethyl acetate, water, and aceticacid, thereby providing an energy efficiency advantage. The temperatureof the distillate exiting in line 117 from column 107 preferably at 50kPa is from 10° C. to 80° C., e.g., from 20° C. to 70° C. or from 30° C.to 60° C. The pressure of first column 107 may range from 0.1 kPa to 510kPa, e.g., from 1 kPa to 475 kPa or from 1 kPa to 375 kPa. In someembodiments, first column 107 may operate at a pressure of less than 70kPa, e.g., less than 50 kPa, or less than 20 kPa. Operating under avacuum may decrease the reboiler duty and reflux ratio of first column107. However, a decrease in operating pressure for first column 107 doesnot substantially affect column diameter.

The amount of extractive agent fed to extractive column 107 may varywidely. For example, when extractive agent 115 comprises water ofdiluted acid, the mass flow ratio of water to crude ethanol product mayrange from 0.05:1 to 2:1, e.g., from 0.07 to 0.9:1 or from 0.1:1 to0.7:1.

The crude ethanol product in liquid stream 113 comprises ethyl acetate,ethanol and water. These compounds may form various binary and tertiaryazeotropes. For example, a tertiary azeotrope may have a boiling pointlower than its constituents, while other tertiary azeotropes may have aboiling point in between the pure constituents. In the embodiments ofthe present invention, without the use of an extractive agent, a largerportion of the ethanol would carry over into the first distillate inline 117. By using an extractive agent in column 107, the separation ofethanol into the first residue in line 116 is facilitated thusincreasing the yield of the overall ethanol product in the first residuein line 116.

In this manner, ethanol, water, unreacted acetic acid, and other heavycomponents, if present, are removed from liquid stream 113 and arewithdrawn, preferably continuously, as first residue in line 116.

First column 107 also forms a first distillate, which is withdrawn inline 117, and which may be condensed and refluxed, for example, at aratio of from 30:1 to 1:30, e.g., from 10:1 to 1:10 or from 5:1 to 1:5.Higher mass flow ratios of water to organic feed may allow first column107 to operate with a reduced reflux ratio.

First distillate in line 117 preferably comprises a weight majority ofthe acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate from liquid stream 113. In oneembodiment, the first distillate in line 117 comprises a concentrationof ethyl acetate that is less than the ethyl acetate concentration forthe azeotrope of ethyl acetate and water, and more preferably less than75 wt. %.

In some embodiments, first distillate in line 117 also comprisesethanol. Returning the ethanol to reactor 103 may require an increase inreactor capacity to maintain the same level of ethanol efficiency. Torecover ethanol, optionally, first distillate in line 117 may be fed toan extractor and the raffinate may have a reduced ethanol concentrationthat can be recycled to reactor 103.

Exemplary compositions of the first distillate and the first residue forfirst column 107 are provided in Table 3 below. It should also beunderstood that the distillate and residue may also contain othercomponents, not listed in Table 3. For convenience, the distillate andresidue of the first column may also be referred to as the “firstdistillate” or “first residue.” The distillates or residues of the othercolumns may also be referred to with similar numeric modifiers (second,third, etc.) in order to distinguish them from one another, but suchmodifiers should not be construed as requiring any particular separationorder.

TABLE 3 EXTRACTIVE COLUMN 107 Conc. (wt. %) Conc. (wt. %) Conc. (wt. %)First Distillate Ethanol <25  0.001 to 20   0.01 to 15   Water 0.1 to20   1 to 15  2 to 10 Acetic Acid <2 <0.1 <0.05 Ethyl Acetate 10 to 8515 to 80 20 to 75 Acetaldehyde 0.1 to 70  0.2 to 65  0.5 to 65  Acetal<3 0.01 to 2   0.05 to 1.5  First Residue Acetic Acid 0.1 to 50  0.5 to40   1 to 30 Water 20 to 85 25 to 80 30 to 75 Ethanol 10 to 75 15 to 7020 to 65 Ethyl Acetate 0.005 to 30   0.03 to 25   0.08 to 1  

In one embodiment of the present invention, first column 107 may beoperated at a temperature where most of the water, ethanol, and aceticacid are removed into the residue stream and only a small amount ofethanol and water is collected in the distillate stream due to theformation of binary and tertiary azeotropes. The weight ratio of waterin the residue in line 118 to water in the distillate in line 119 may begreater than 1:1, e.g., greater than 2:1. The weight ratio of ethanol inthe residue to ethanol in the distillate may be greater than 1:1, e.g.,greater than 2:1.

The amount of acetic acid in the first residue may vary dependingprimarily on the conversion in reactor 103. In one embodiment, when theconversion is high, e.g., greater than 90%, the amount of acetic acid inthe first residue may be less than 10 wt. %, e.g., less than 5 wt. % orless than 2 wt. %. In other embodiments, when the conversion is lower,e.g., less than 90%, the amount of acetic acid in the first residue maybe greater than 10 wt. %.

The first distillate in line 117 preferably is substantially free ofacetic acid, e.g., comprising less than 1000 wppm, less than 500 wppm orless than 100 wppm acetic acid. The distillate may be purged from thesystem or recycled in whole or part to reactor 103. In some embodiments,when the distillate comprises ethyl acetate and acetaldehyde, thedistillate may be further separated, e.g., in a distillation column (notshown), into an acetaldehyde stream and an ethyl acetate stream. Theethyl acetate stream may also be hydrolyzed or reduced with hydrogen,via hydrogenolysis, to produce ethanol. Either of these streams may bereturned to reactor 103 or separated from system 100 as additionalproducts.

Some species, such as acetals, may decompose in first column 107 so thatvery low amounts, or even no detectable amounts, of acetals remain inthe distillate or residue. In addition, an equilibrium reaction betweenacetic acid/ethanol and ethyl acetate may occur in the crude ethanolproduct after exiting reactor 103. Depending on the concentration ofacetic acid in the crude ethanol product, this equilibrium may be driventoward formation of ethyl acetate. This equilibrium may be regulatedusing the residence time and/or temperature of crude ethanol product.

In one embodiment, due to the composition of first residue in line 117the equilibrium may favor esterification to produce ethyl acetate. Whilethe esterification, either in the liquid or vapor phase, may consumeethanol, the esterification may also reduce the amount of acetic acidthat needs to be removed from the process. Ethyl acetate may be removedfrom first column 107 or formed in situ ethyl acetate via esterificationbetween first column 107 and second column 108. The esterification maybe further promoted by passing a portion of the first residue in line118 through an esterification reactor (not shown). The esterificationreactor may be either a liquid or vapor phase reactor and may comprisean acidic catalyst. A vapor phase reactor is preferred to convert someof the first residue into an intermediate vapor feed to be introducedinto second column 108.

As shown in FIG. 1, to recover ethanol, first residue in line 116 may befurther separated depending on the concentration of acetic acid and/orethyl acetate. In most embodiments, of the present invention, residuestream in line 116 is introduced to second column 108, also referred toas an “acid column,” because acid, if any, from the first residue inline 116 is removed in second column 108. An acid separation column maybe used when the acetic acid concentration in the first residue isgreater than 1 wt. %, e.g., greater than 5 wt. %. In some embodiments,when the acetic acid concentration is low, e.g., less than 10 wt. %, thewater separation column in FIG. 3 may be used.

In FIG. 1, the first residue in line 116 is introduced to second column108, preferably in the middle part of column 108, e.g., middle half ormiddle third. Second column 108 yields a second residue in line 118comprising acetic acid and water, and a second distillate in line 119comprising ethanol. In one embodiment, a weight majority of the waterand/or acetic acid fed to second column 108 is removed in the secondresidue in line 118, e.g., at least 60% of the water and/or acetic acidis removed in the second residue in line 118 or more preferably at least80% of the water and/or acetic acid. An acid column may be desirable,for example, when the acetic acid concentration in the first residue isgreater 50 wppm, e.g., greater than 0.1 wt. %, greater than 1 wt. %,e.g., greater than 5 wt. %.

In one embodiment first residue in line 116 may be preheated prior tobeing introduced into second column 108. The first residue in line 116may be heat integrated with either the residue of second column 108 orvapor overhead of second column 108. In some embodiments, if ethylacetate is present, esterification may be carried out in the vapor phase(not shown) that results in preheating a portion of first residue inline 116 to form an intermediate vapor feed. For purposes of the presentinvention, when preheating it is preferred than less than 30 mol. % offirst residue in line 116 is in the vapor phase, e.g., less than 25 mol.% or less than 20 mol. %. Greater vapor phase contents result inincreased energy consumption and a significant increase in the size ofsecond column 108.

Esterifying the acetic acid in first residue in line 116 increases theethyl acetate concentration which leads to increases in the size ofsecond column 108 as well increases in reboiler duty. Thus, theconversion of acetic acid may be controlled depending on the initialethyl acetate concentration withdrawn from first column 107. To maintainan efficient separation the ethyl acetate concentration of the firstresidue in line 116 feed to second column 108 is preferably less than1000 wppm, e.g., less than 800 wppm or less than 600 wppm.

Second column 108 operates in a manner to concentrate the ethanol fromfirst residue 116 so that a majority of the ethanol is carried overhead.Thus, the residue of second column 108 may have a low ethanolconcentration of less than 5 wt. %, e.g. less than 1 wt. % or less than0.5 wt. %. Lower ethanol concentrations may be achieved withoutsignificant increases in reboiler duty or column size. Thus, in someembodiments it is efficient to reduce the ethanol concentration in theresidue to less than 50 wppm, or more preferably less than 25 wppm. Asdescribed herein, the residue of second column 108 may be treated andlower concentrations of ethanol allow the residue to be treated withoutgenerating further impurities.

Although the temperature and pressure of second column 108 may vary,when at atmospheric pressure the temperature of the second residue inline 118 preferably is from 95° C. to 160° C., e.g., from 100° C. to150° C. or from 110° C. to 145° C. In one embodiment, when first residuein line 116 is preheated to a temperature that is within 20° C. of thetemperature of second residue in line 118, e.g., within 15° C. or within10° C. The temperature of the second distillate exiting in line 119 fromsecond column 108 preferably is from 50° C. to 120° C., e.g., from 75°C. to 118° C. or from 80° C. to 115° C. The temperature gradient may besharper in the base of second column 108.

The pressure of second column 108 may range from 0.1 kPa to 510 kPa,e.g., from 1 kPa to 475 kPa or from 1 kPa to 375 kPa. In one embodiment,second column 108 operates above atmospheric pressure, e.g., above 170kPa or above 375 kPa. Second column 108 may be constructed of a materialsuch as 316L SS, Allot 2205 or Hastelloy C, depending on the operatingpressure. The reboiler duty and column size for second column remainrelatively constant until the ethanol concentration in the seconddistillate in line 119 is greater than 90 wt. %.

As described herein first column 107 is an extractive column thatpreferably uses water. The additional water is separated in secondcolumn 108. While using water as an extractive agent may reduce thereboiler duty of first column 107, when the mass flow ratio of water toorganic feed, i.e. liquid stream 113, is larger than 0.65:1, e.g.,larger than 0.6:1 or larger than 0.54:1, the additional water will causean increase in reboiler duty of second column 108 that offsets anybenefit gained by first column 107.

Second column 108 also forms an overhead, which is withdrawn in line119, and which may be condensed and refluxed, for example, at a ratiofrom 12:1 to 1:12, e.g., from 10:1 to 1:10 or from 8:1 to 1:8. Theoverhead in line 119 preferably comprises 85 to 92 wt. % ethanol, e.g.,about 87 to 90 wt. % ethanol, with the remaining balance being water andethyl acetate.

Exemplary components for the distillate and residue compositions forsecond column 108 are provided in Table 4 below. It should be understoodthat the distillate and residue may also contain other components, notlisted in Table 4.

TABLE 4 ACID COLUMN 108 (FIG. 1) Conc. (wt. %) Conc. (wt. %) Conc. (wt.%) Second Distillate Ethanol    70 to 99.9    75 to 98 80 to 95 EthylAcetate <10  0.001 to 5 0.01 to 3   Acetaldehyde <5 0.001 to 1 0.005 to0.5  Water 0.1 to 30    1 to 25  5 to 20 Second Residue Acetic Acid 0.1to 45   0.2 to 40 0.5 to 35  Water   45 to 100     55 to 99.8   65 to99.5 Ethyl Acetate <2 <1 <0.5 Ethanol <5 0.001 to 5 <2

The weight ratio of ethanol in the second distillate in line 119 toethanol in the second residue in line 118 preferably is at least 35:1.In one embodiment, the weight ratio of water in second residue 118 towater in the second distillate in line 119 is greater than 2:1, e.g.,greater than 4:1 or greater than 6:1. In addition, the weight ratio ofacetic acid in second residue 118 to acetic acid in the seconddistillate in line 119 preferably is greater than 10:1, e.g., greaterthan 15:1 or greater than 20:1. Preferably, the second distillate inline 119 is substantially free of acetic acid and may only contain, ifany, trace amounts of acetic acid. A reduced concentration of aceticacid in line 119 advantageously provides an ethanol product that alsohas no amount or a trace amount of acetic acid. Preferably, the seconddistillate in line 119 contains substantially no ethyl acetate. Thesecond distillate in line 119 may be withdrawn as the ethanol product orfurther processed to reduce water concentration.

In FIG. 1, to recover the water as the extractive agent for use in firstcolumn 107, the second residue in line 118 is further separated into awater stream and an acetic acid stream. As shown in FIG. 1 there isprovided a distillation column for separating second residue in line118, however, other separation units as shown in FIG. 4, such as anadsorption unit, molecular sieve, or membrane, may be used to separatesecond residue in line 118. The second residue in line 118 is introducedto a third column 109, preferably in the top part of column 109, e.g.,top half or top third. The third distillate in line 121 preferablycomprises water and very low amount of acetic acid, e.g., less than 5wt. %, less than 3 wt. %, or less than 1 wt. %. The third distillate inline 121 may be returned to first column 107 as extractive agent 115 ormay be purged as necessary.

Third column 109 may be a tray column or packed column. In oneembodiment, third column 109 is a tray column having from 5 to 150trays, e.g., from 15 to 50 trays or from 20 to 45 trays. Although thetemperature and pressure of third column 109 may vary, when atatmospheric pressure the temperature of the third residue exiting inline 120 preferably is from 115° C. to 140° C., e.g., from 120° C. to135° C. or from 125° C. to 135° C. The temperature of the thirddistillate exiting in line 121 at atmospheric pressure preferably isfrom 90° C. to 110° C., e.g., from 95° C. to 110° C. or from 100° C. to110° C. The pressure of third column 109 may range from 0.1 kPa to 510kPa, e.g., from 1 kPa to 475 kPa or from 1 kPa to 375 kPa.

In another embodiment, the acid column may also be operated in a mannerthat withdraws a second residue that comprises acetic acid and a seconddistillate that comprises ethanol and water. The water may be recoveredby separating the ethanol and water. In FIG. 2, second column 122 may bea tray column or packed column. In one embodiment, second column 122 isa tray column having from 5 to 70 trays, e.g., from 15 to 50 trays orfrom 20 to 45 trays. When column 122 is operated under standardatmospheric pressure, the temperature of the residue exiting in line 123preferably is from 95° C. to 130° C., e.g., from 105° C. to 117° C. orfrom 110° C. to 115° C. The temperature of the distillate exiting inline 124 from column 122 preferably is from 70° C. to 110° C., e.g.,from 75° C. to 95° C. or from 80° C. to 90° C. In other embodiments, thepressure of second column 122 may range from 0.1 kPa to 510 kPa, e.g.,from 1 kPa to 475 kPa or from 1 kPa to 375 kPa. Exemplary components forthe distillate and residue compositions for second column 122 areprovided in Table 5 below.

TABLE 5 ACID COLUMN 122 (FIG. 2) Conc. (wt. %) Conc. (wt. %) Conc. (wt.%) Distillate Ethanol 10 to 85  15 to 85 20 to 85 Water 5 to 60 10 to 5010 to 45 Acetic Acid <2 0.001 to 0.5  0.01 to 0.2  Ethyl Acetate <0.5<0.01 0.001 to 0.01  Acetaldehyde <2 <0.01 0.001 to 0.01  Residue AceticAcid 60 to 100  65 to 100 85 to 95 Water <30 0.5 to 30   1 to 15 Ethanol<1 <0.9  <0.07

The second residue in line 123 may be recycled to reaction zone 101. Insome embodiments, the water in second residue 123, if any, may berecovered and used as an extractive agent. In another embodiments, whenthe third residue comprises very minor amounts of acetic acid, e.g.,less than 5 wt. %, the third residue may be disposed of to a waste watertreatment facility without further processing. The organic content,e.g., acetic acid content, of the second distillate beneficially may besuitable to feed microorganisms used in a waste water treatmentfacility.

As shown in FIG. 2, the remaining water, if any, from the seconddistillate in line 124 may be removed in further embodiments of thepresent invention. Depending on the water concentration, the ethanolproduct may be derived from the second distillate in line 124. Someapplications, such as industrial ethanol applications, may toleratewater in the ethanol product, while other applications, such as fuelapplications, may require an anhydrous ethanol. Water may be removedfrom the second distillate in line 124 using several differentseparation techniques. Particularly preferred techniques include the useof distillation column, membranes, adsorption units and combinationsthereof.

In one embodiment, ethanol product may be recovered after the removal ofwater. As shown in FIG. 2, the second distillate in line 124 is fed to athird column 126, e.g., ethanol product column, for separating thedistillate into a third distillate (ethanol distillate) in line 128 anda third residue (water residue) in line 127. The third residue in line127 or a portion thereof may be returned to first column 107 as anextractive agent. Depending on the amount of water needed as theextractive agent a portion of third residue in line 127 may also bepurged. Second distillate in line 124 may be introduced into the lowerpart of column 126, e.g., lower half or lower third. Third distillate inline 128 preferably is refluxed, for example, at a reflux ratio of from1:10 to 10:1, e.g., from 1:3 to 3:1 or from 1:2 to 2:1. Third column 126is preferably a tray column as described above and preferably operatesat atmospheric pressure. The temperature of the third distillate exitingfrom third column 126 preferably is from 60° C. to 110° C., e.g., from70° C. to 100° C. or from 75° C. to 95° C. The temperature of the thirdresidue in line 127 preferably is from 70° C. to 115° C., e.g., from 80°C. to 110° C. or from 85° C. to 105° C., when the column is operated atatmospheric pressure. Exemplary components of the distillate and residuecompositions for third column 126 are provided in Table 6 below. Itshould be understood that the distillate and residue may also containother components, not listed, such as components in the feed.

TABLE 6 ETHANOL PRODUCT COLUMN 126 Conc. (wt. %) Conc. (wt. %) Conc.(wt. %) Distillate Ethanol 75 to 96  80 to 96 85 to 96 Water <12  1 to 93 to 8 Acetic Acid <1 0.001 to 0.1 0.005 to 0.01  Ethyl Acetate <5 0.001to 4   0.01 to 3   Residue Water  75 to 100   80 to 100  90 to 100Ethanol <0.8 0.001 to 0.5 0.005 to 0.05  Ethyl Acetate <1 0.001 to 0.50.005 to 0.2  Acetic Acid <2 0.001 to 0.5 0.005 to 0.2 

In another embodiment, preferably when acid conversion is high inreactor 103, one column may be used to recover the ethanol product andwater as the extractive agent. In FIG. 3, the first residue in line 116is fed to a second column 129, referred to as the “diluted acid recoverycolumn.” Second column 129 of FIG. 3 may operate in a similar manner asthe second column of FIG. 1, to remove a substantial portion of thewater in the residue. The water from first residue in line 116 may beseparated into the second residue in line 132 and returned to firstcolumn 107. There may be some acetic acid in second residue in line 132(also referred to as dilute acid stream) and a purge 133 may be taken asnecessary. In some embodiments, dilute acid stream 132 may comprise atleast 85% of the acetic acid from the crude ethanol product 113, e.g.,at least 90% and more preferably at least 99%. In terms of ranges,dilute acid stream 132 optionally comprises from 85% to 99.5% or from90% to 99.99% of the unreacted acetic acid from the crude ethanolproduct. In some embodiments, dilute acid stream 132 comprises from 2 to60 wt. % acetic acid and from 40 to 98 wt. % water. In an embodiment,the second residue in line 132 may be return to first column 107 even ifit contains acetic acid. For example, dilute acid stream 132 may containacetic acid in an amount less than 30 wt. %, e.g., less than 15 wt. %,less than 10 wt. %, or less than 5 wt. %.

In the case where higher concentrations of acetic acid are presentin—second residue 132, a water separator 138 may be used to separatewater from acetic acid. For example, an adsorption unit, a membrane, adistillation column, other suitable water/acid separator, or acombinations thereof. A pressure swing adsorption unit may be used toremove water from acetic acid. Water permeable membranes that are acidresistant may also be used. In FIG. 4, the first residue in line 116 isfed to a second column 134 that operate similar to the second column ofFIG. 1. The water and acid from first residue in line 116 may beseparated into the second residue in line 136 and feed to a waterseparator 138. Water separator 138 separates second residue in line 136into a water stream in line 139 and an acetic acid stream in line 140.In some embodiment, the water stream may comprise a small amount ofacetic acid and can be referred to as a dilute acid stream. The waterstream may contain acetic acid in an amount less than 20 wt. %, e.g.,less than 15 wt. %, less than 10 wt. %, or less than 5 wt. %. Dependingon the amount of acid in second residue 136, in some embodiments, thesecond residue may be purged in line 137, recycled to reaction zone 101or treated as discussed above. As shown in FIG. 4, water stream 139 maybe returned to first column 107 as an extractive agent. There may besome acetic acid in water stream 139. In an embodiment, water stream 139may combine with fresh water 125 prior to returning to first column 107.Acetic acid stream 140 from water separator 138 preferably contains ahigh concentration of acetic acid. Acetic acid stream 140 may bereturned to reaction zone 101.

In an embodiment, acetic acid in the second residue stream from theacetic acid column may be reacted out thereby leaving a purified waterstream. In FIG. 5, second residue 132 is directed to third column 141for esterification. In one embodiment, substantially all of theunreacted acetic acid is reacted out of second residue 132. According toembodiments of the present invention, the acetic acid present in secondresidue 132 is reacted with methanol stream in line 142 inesterification unit 141 to produce methyl acetate in line 143. Althoughmethanol is shown it should be understood that other alcohols, includingethanol or mixtures of alcohols, may also be used. For example, ifethanol is used in place of methanol, ethyl acetate would be produced inline 143. As shown in FIG. 5, the esterification unit is shown as areactive distillation column (third column) 141. Second residue 132 isco-fed to third column 141 with methanol stream 142, to produce thirddistillate stream 143 comprising methyl acetate and a third residuestream 144 comprising water. At least a portion of third residue streammay be purged from the system, via line 145. FIG. 5 shows methanol feedstream 142 being fed to third column 141 at a point below where secondresidue 132 is fed to the column. In other embodiments, methanol feedstream may be fed to third column 141 at the same level, or at a pointbelow where second residue 132 is fed to the column.

When third column 141 is a reactive distillation column, as shown inFIG. 5, third column 141 comprises an ion exchange resin bed, an acidiccatalyst, or combinations thereof. Non-limiting examples of ion exchangeresins suitable for use in the present invention include macroporousstrong-acid cation exchange resins such as those from the Amberlyst®series distributed by the Dow Chemical Company (e.g., Amberlyst 15®,Amberlyst 35®, and Amberlyst 36®). Additional ion exchange resinssuitable for use in the present invention are disclosed in U.S. Pat.Nos. 4,615,806, 5,139,981, and 7,588,690, the entireties of which areincorporated herein by reference. In another embodiment, an acid isadded to third column 141 to catalyze the esterification reaction. Inthis aspect, the acid may be selected from the group consisting ofsulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, sulfonic acids, heteropolyacids, othermineral acids and a combination thereof. In other embodiments, acidcatalysts include zeolites and supports treated with mineral acids andheteropolyacids.

In some embodiments, when an ion exchange resin is present in thirdcolumn 141, second residue 132 may be fed to a guard bed (not shown)prior to being fed to third column 141. In one embodiment, the guard bedcomprises an ion exchange resin, such as those disclosed above. Whilenot being bound to any particular theory, the guard bed removes one ormore corrosive metals present in second residue 132, thereby minimizingthe deactivation of any ion exchange resin catalytic sites in the ionexchange resin present in third column 141.

The operating parameters of third column 141 may be varied to achieve adesired composition in third distillate 143 and/or residue stream 144.For example, in some embodiments, temperature, pressure, feed rates, andresidence times can be varied to increase conversion of acetic acid toan ester, decrease the formation of impurities, achieve more efficientseparation, reduce energy consumption, or combinations thereof.

In one embodiment, third column 141 operates at a base temperature offrom 100° C. to 150° C., e.g., from 100° C. to 130° C., or from 100° C.to 120° C. In terms of pressure, the reactive distillation column may beoperated at atmospheric pressure, subatmospheric pressure, orsuperatmospheric pressure. For example, in some embodiments, thereactive distillation column operates at a pressure of from 50 kPa to500 kPa, e.g., from 50 kPa to 400 kPa, or from 50 kPa to 200 kPa.

In some embodiments, the feed rates of acetic acid and alcohol to thirdcolumn 141 may be adjusted to control the mole ratio of acetic acid toalcohol being fed to third column 141. For example, in some embodiments,the mole ratio of acetic acid to methanol fed to the reactivedistillation column is from 1:1 to 1:15, e.g., from 1:1 to 1:5, or from1:1 to 1:2.

The residence time of third column 141 may impact acetic acidconversion. In some embodiments, for example, the residence time in thesecond column is from 1 to 5 hours, e.g., from 1 to 3 hours, or lessthan 1 hour.

The third distillate in line 143 exiting third column 141 preferablycomprises at least 15 wt. % methyl acetate, preferably at least 35 wt. %methyl acetate, or more preferably at least 65 wt. % methyl acetate. Interms of ranges, third distillate 143 from third column 141 may comprisemethyl acetate in an amount from 15 to 99 wt. %, e.g., from 35 to 90 wt.% or from 50 to 90 wt. %.

When excess methanol is reacted with the acetic acid from the diluteacid stream, some methanol also may be present in third distillate 143.Thus, third distillate 143 may comprise methanol in an amount from 0.1to 80 wt. %, e.g., from 10 to 60 wt. %, or from 1 to 30 wt. %.

Some impurities, such as dimethyl ether may form over the course of thereaction in second column 129. These impurities may be present in verylow amounts, or even no detectable amounts, in third distillate stream143. In some embodiments, third distillate 143 comprises less than 1000wppm dimethyl ether, e.g., less than 750 wppm, or less than 500 wppm.

Third distillate stream 143 may be fed to a carbonylation reactor forproducing acetic acid, which may in turn, be used as a feedstock for theethanol synthesis reaction. In some embodiments, third distillate stream143 may optionally be condensed, processed, or refined, prior to beingfed to the carbonylation reactor.

In one embodiment, due to the presence of ethyl acetate in seconddistillate 131, an additional third column 146 may be used. Third column146, referred to as a “light ends” column, is used for removing ethylacetate from second distillate 131 and producing an ethanol product inthe third residue in line 148. Light ends column 146 may be a traycolumn or packed column. In FIG. 6, third column 146 may be a traycolumn having from 5 to 90 theoretical trays, e.g. from 10 to 60theoretical trays or from 15 to 50 theoretical trays.

The feed location of second distillate 131 may vary depending on ethylacetate concentration and it is preferred to feed second distillate 131to the upper portion of third column 146. Higher concentrations of ethylacetate may be fed at a higher location in third column 146. The feedlocation should avoid the very top trays, near the reflux, to avoidexcess reboiler duty requirements for the column and an increase incolumn size. For example, in a column having 45 actual trays, the feedlocation should be between 10 to 15 trays from the top. Feeding at apoint above this may increase the reboiler duty and size of light endscolumn 146.

Second distillate 131 may be fed to third column 146 at a temperature ofup to 70° C., e.g., up to 50° C., or up to 40° C. In some embodiments itis not necessary to further preheat second distillate 131.

Ethyl acetate may be concentrated in the third distillate in line 147.Due to the relatively lower amounts of ethyl acetate fed to third column146, third distillate in line 147 also comprises substantial amounts ofethanol. To recover the ethanol, third distillate in line 147 may be fedto first column 107 as an ethyl acetate recycle stream. Because thisincreases the demands on first column 107 and second column 129, it ispreferred that the concentration of ethanol in third distillate in line147 be from 70 to 90 wt. %, e.g., from 72 to 88 wt. %, or from 75 to 85wt. %.

In other embodiments, a portion of third distillate in line 147 may bepurged from the system as a separate product, such as an ethyl acetatesolvent.

In an optional embodiment, third residue 148 may be further processed torecover ethanol with a desired amount of water, for example, using afurther distillation column, adsorption unit, membrane or combinationthereof, may be used to further remove water from third residue in line148 as necessary. In most embodiments, the water is removed prior tothird column 146 using water separator and thus further drying of theethanol is not required.

Third column 146 is preferably a tray column as described above andpreferably operates at atmospheric pressure. The temperature of thethird residue in line 148 exiting from third column 146 preferably isfrom 65° C. to 110° C., e.g., from 70° C. to 100° C. or from 75° C. to80° C. The temperature of the third distillate in line 147 exiting fromthird column 146 preferably is from 30° C. to 70° C., e.g., from 40° C.to 65° C. or from 50° C. to 65° C.

The pressure of third column 146 may range from 0.1 kPa to 510 kPa,e.g., from 1 kPa to 475 kPa or from 1 kPa to 375 kPa. In someembodiments, third column 146 may operate at a pressure of less than 70kPa, e.g., less than 50 kPa, or less than 20 kPa. Decreasing inoperating pressure substantially decreases column diameter and reboilerduty for third column 146.

Exemplary components for ethanol mixture stream and residue compositionsfor third column 146 are provided in Table 7 below. It should beunderstood that the distillate and residue may also contain othercomponents, not listed in Table 7.

TABLE 7 LIGHT ENDS COLUMN (146 FIG. 6) Conc. (wt. %) Conc. (wt. %) Conc.(wt. %) Third Distillate Ethanol 70 to 99    72 to 90 75 to 85 EthylAcetate 0.5 to 30     1 to 25  1 to 15 Acetaldehyde <15  0.001 to 10 0.1to 5   Water <10 0.001 to 2 0.01 to 1   Acetal <2 0.001 to 1 0.01 to0.5  Third Residue Ethanol   80 to 99.5    85 to 97 90 to 95 Water <80.001 to 3 0.01 to 1   Ethyl Acetate <1.5 0.0001 to 1  0.001 to 0.5 Acetic Acid <0.5 <0.01 0.0001 to 0.01 

In some embodiments, water may be present in distillate 131, which maybe carried over to the ethanol product stream 148. In one embodiment,water may be removed prior to recovering the ethanol product. In oneembodiment, the distillate in line 131 may comprise less than 15 wt. %water, e.g., less than 10 wt. % water or less than 8 wt. % water. Thedistillate in line 131 may be fed to a water separator, which may be anadsorption unit, membrane, molecular sieves, extractive distillationcolumn, or a combination thereof. In one embodiment, at least 50% of thesecond distillate in line 131 is condensed and may be fed directly tothird column 146.

FIG. 7 is a scheme showing the combination of using a reactivedistillation column 141 and ethanol product column 146. In this scheme,second distillate 131 is fed to ethanol product column 146 and secondresidue 132 is fed to reactive distillation column 141, respectively. Asa result, purified ethanol is recovered as a third residue in line 148and ethyl acetate is recovered as a third distillate 147 and recycled tofirst column 107. Second residue 132 is fed to reactive distillationcolumn 141 to react the acetic acid in the second residue with methanolto produce methyl acetate, which is recovered in line 143. Water stream144 is recovered as a fourth residue and is returned to first column 107as an extractive agent. At least a portion of water stream 144 may bepurged from the system in line 145.

Returning to the first distillate in line 117, which comprises ethylacetate and/or acetaldehyde, preferably is refluxed as shown in FIG. 1,for example, at a reflux ratio of from 1:30 to 30:1, e.g., from 1:5 to5:1 or from 1:3 to 3:1. In one aspect, not shown, the first distillateor a portion thereof may be returned to reactor 103. In someembodiments, it may be advantageous to return a portion of firstdistillate to reactor 103. The ethyl acetate and/or acetaldehyde fromthe first distillate may be further reacted in hydrogenation reactor 103or in a secondary reactor. The outflow from the secondary reactor may befed to reactor 103 to produce additional ethanol or to a distillationcolumn to recover additional ethanol.

In some embodiments, the first distillate in line 117 may also compriseminor amounts of water. If all or a portion of the first distillate isreturned to reactor 103, it may be necessary to remove water from line117. The water from the first distillate in line 117 may be removed, forexample, by an adsorption unit, one or more membranes, molecular sieves,extractive distillation, or a combination thereof. For example, anadsorption unit (not shown) may be used to remove a water stream fromfirst distillate in line 117 thus producing a refined light streampreferably comprising less than 1 wt. % water and more preferably lessthan 0.5 wt. % water. Adsorption unit may remove up to 99.99% of thewater from the first distillate in line 117, and more preferably from95% to 99.99% of the water from the first distillate. Refined lightstream, or a portion thereof, may be returned to reactor 103.

In one embodiment, the first distillate in line 117, or a portion ofeither or both streams, may be further separated to produce anacetaldehyde-containing stream and an ethyl acetate-containing stream.This may allow a portion of either the acetaldehyde-containing stream orethyl acetate-containing stream to be recycled to reactor 103, whilepurging the other stream. The purge stream may be valuable as a sourceof either ethyl acetate and/or acetaldehyde.

The columns used in the present invention may comprise any distillationcolumn capable of performing the desired separation and/or purification.Each column preferably comprises a tray column having from 1 to 150trays, e.g., from 10 to 100 trays, from 20 to 95 trays or from 30 to 75trays. The trays may be sieve trays, fixed valve trays, movable valvetrays, or any other suitable design known in the art. In otherembodiments, a packed column may be used. For packed columns, structuredpacking or random packing may be employed. The trays or packing may bearranged in one continuous column or they may be arranged in two or morecolumns so that the vapor from the first section enters the secondsection while the liquid from the second section enters the firstsection, etc.

The associated condensers and liquid separation vessels that may beemployed with each of the distillation columns may be of anyconventional design and are simplified in the figures. Heat may besupplied to the base of each column or to a circulating bottom streamthrough a heat exchanger or reboiler. Other types of reboilers, such asinternal reboilers, may also be used. The heat that is provided to thereboilers may be derived from any heat generated during the process thatis integrated with the reboilers or from an external source such asanother heat generating chemical process or a boiler. Although onereactor and one flasher are shown in the figures, additional reactors,flashers, condensers, heating elements, and other components may be usedin various embodiments of the present invention. As will be recognizedby those skilled in the art, various condensers, pumps, compressors,reboilers, drums, valves, connectors, separation vessels, etc., normallyemployed in carrying out chemical processes may also be combined andemployed in the processes of the present invention.

The temperatures and pressures employed in the columns may vary.Temperatures within the various zones will normally range between theboiling points of the composition removed as the distillate and thecomposition removed as the residue. As will be recognized by thoseskilled in the art, the temperature at a given location in an operatingdistillation column is dependent on the composition of the material atthat location and the pressure of column. In addition, feed rates mayvary depending on the size of the production process and, if described,may be generically referred to in terms of feed weight ratios.

Distillate in lines 119, 128, and 131 comprise ethanol, as discussedabove, and may be further purified to form an anhydrous ethanol productstream, i.e., “finished anhydrous ethanol,” using one ore moreadditional separation systems, such as, for example, distillations(e.g., a finishing column), pressure swing absorption system, membrane,molecular sieves, extractive distillation, or a combination thereof.

Any of the compounds that are carried through the distillation processfrom the feed or crude reaction product generally remain in the ethanoldistillate in amounts of less 0.1 wt. %, based on the total weight ofthe ethanol distillate composition, e.g., less than 0.05 wt. % or lessthan 0.02 wt. %. In one embodiment, one or more side streams may removeimpurities from any of the columns in system 100. Preferably at leastone side stream is used to remove impurities from the third column. Theimpurities may be purged and/or retained within system 100.

The final ethanol composition obtained by the process of the presentinvention may be taken from the second distillate in lines 119, 131 or135, third distillate in line 128, or optionally from the third residuein line 148. The ethanol product may be an industrial grade or fuelgrade ethanol. Exemplary finished ethanol compositional ranges areprovided below in Table 8.

TABLE 8 FINISHED ETHANOL COMPOSITIONS Component Conc. (wt. %) Conc. (wt.%) Conc. (wt. %) Ethanol 85 to 99.9 90 to 99.5 92 to 99.5 Water <8 0.1to 3    0.1 to 1    Acetic Acid <1 <0.1 <0.01 Ethyl Acetate <2 <0.5<0.05 Acetal <0.05 <0.01 <0.005 Acetone <0.05 <0.01 <0.005 Isopropanol<0.5 <0.1 <0.05 n-propanol <0.5 <0.1 <0.05

The finished ethanol composition of the present invention preferablycontains very low amounts, e.g., less than 0.5 wt. %, of other alcohols,such as methanol, butanol, isobutanol, isoamyl alcohol and other C₄-C₂₀alcohols. In one embodiment, the amount of isopropanol in the finishedethanol composition is from 80 to 1,000 wppm, e.g., from 95 to 1,000wppm, from 100 to 700 wppm, or from 150 to 500 wppm. In one embodiment,the finished ethanol composition is substantially free of acetaldehyde,optionally comprising less than 8 wppm acetaldehyde, e.g., less than 5wppm or less than 1 wppm.

The finished ethanol composition produced by the embodiments of thepresent invention may be used in a variety of applications includingapplications as fuels, solvents, chemical feedstocks, pharmaceuticalproducts, cleansers, sanitizers, hydrogen transport or consumption. Infuel applications, the finished ethanol composition may be blended withgasoline for motor vehicles such as automobiles, boats and small pistonengine aircraft. In non-fuel applications, the finished ethanolcomposition may be used as a solvent for toiletry and cosmeticpreparations, detergents, disinfectants, coatings, inks, andpharmaceuticals. The finished ethanol composition may also be used as aprocessing solvent in manufacturing processes for medicinal products,food preparations, dyes, photochemicals and latex processing.

The finished ethanol composition may also be used as a chemicalfeedstock to make other chemicals such as vinegar, ethyl acrylate, ethylacetate, ethylene, glycol ethers, ethylamines, aldehydes, and higheralcohols, especially butanol. In the production of ethyl acetate, thefinished ethanol composition may esterified with acetic acid. In anotherapplication, the finished ethanol composition may be dehydrated toproduce ethylene.

In order that the invention disclosed herein may be more efficientlyunderstood, an examples is provided below. It should be understood thatthis example is for illustrative purposes only and is not to beconstrued as limiting the invention in any manner.

EXAMPLES

A separation process according to this invention was used. A crudeethanol product was fed to a separation system comprising three columns.The first column was operated using water as an extractive agent andcompared against a first column that did not use an extractive agent.The pressure of the first column was also tested at atmospheric pressureand vacuum at approximately 33 kPa.

The energy requirements and ethanol yield are disclosed in Table 9.

TABLE 9 No Water No Water Water Water Extractive Atmospheric VacuumAtmospheric Vacuum Energy Requirements 1.66 0.68 0.75 0.53 [MMBtu/tonEthanol] Ethanol Recovered in 87.1% 90.1% 98.3% 99.3% Residue

As shown in Table 9, when water was used as an extractive agent in thefirst column, the energy requirements for the column reduced from 1.66to 0.75. At the same time, the amount of ethanol recovered increasedfrom 87.1% to 98.3%. Furthermore, the cost to operate the column underreduced pressure reduced the operation cost by 36%.

While the invention has been described in detail, modifications withinthe spirit and scope of the invention will be readily apparent to thoseof skill in the art. In addition, it should be understood that aspectsof the invention and portions of various embodiments and variousfeatures recited herein and/or in the appended claims may be combined orinterchanged either in whole or in part. In the foregoing descriptionsof the various embodiments, those embodiments which refer to anotherembodiment may be appropriately combined with one or more otherembodiments, as will be appreciated by one of skill in the art.Furthermore, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that theforegoing description is by way of example only, and is not intended tolimit the invention.

We claim:
 1. A process for producing ethanol, comprising: hydrogenatingacetic acid from an acetic acid feed stream in a reactor to form a crudeethanol product; separating at least a portion of the crude ethanolproduct in a first column in the presence of one or more extractiveagents into a first distillate comprising acetaldehyde and ethyl acetateand a first residue comprising ethanol, ethyl acetate, and the one ormore extractive agents; separating at least a portion of the firstresidue in a second column to yield a second distillate comprisingethanol and ethyl acetate and a second residue comprising the one ormore extractive agents; and separating at least a portion of the seconddistillate to yield a third distillate comprising ethyl acetate and athird residue comprising ethanol.
 2. The process of claim 1, wherein theone or more extractive agents are selected from a group consisting ofwater, dimethylsulfoxide, glycerine, diethylene glycol, 1-naphthol,hydroquinone, N,N′-dimethylformamide, 1,4-butanediol, ethyleneglycol-1,5-pentanediol; propylene glycol-tetraethyleneglycol-polyethylene glycol; glycerine-propylene glycol-tetraethyleneglycol-1,4-butanediol, ethyl ether, methyl formate, cyclohexane,N,N′dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine, N,N′-dimethylethylenediamine,diethylene triamine, hexamethylene diamine, 1,3-diaminopentane, andalkylated thiopene, dodecane, tridecane, tetradecane, chlorinatedparaffins, and mixtures thereof.
 3. The process of claim 1, wherein theone or more extractive agents are recovered in the second residue andreturned to the first column.
 4. The process of claim 1, wherein atleast a portion of the second residue is returned to the first column asthe one or more extractive agents.
 5. The process of claim 4, whereinthe returned portion of the second residue comprises less than 30 wt. %acetic acid.
 6. The process of claim 1, wherein the first residuecomprises less than 5 wt. % ethyl acetate.
 7. The process of claim 1,wherein at least one of the one or more extractive agents areco-produced in the reactor.
 8. The process of claim 1, wherein at least50% of the ethanol in the crude ethanol product is withdrawn into thefirst residue stream.
 9. The process of claim 1, wherein the firstdistillate comprises from 0.001 to 20 wt. % ethanol and from 1 to 15 wt.% water.
 10. The process of claim 1, further comprising separating atleast a portion of the second residue to form a water stream and anacetic acid stream.
 11. The process of claim 10, further comprisingreturning at least a portion of the acetic acid stream to the reactor.12. The process of claim 10, further comprising returning at least aportion of the water stream to the first column as the one or moreextractive agents.
 13. The process of claim 1, further comprising:reacting the acetic acid from the second residue with at least onealcohol in an esterification unit to produce at least one ester andwater; and separating the at least one ester from the water to producean ester product stream comprising the at least one ester and an aqueousstream comprising water.
 14. The process of claim 13, further comprisingreturning at least a portion of the aqueous stream to the first columnas the one or more extractive agents.
 15. The process of claim 1,wherein the first distillation column is operated under at a pressure ofless than 70 kPa.
 16. A process for producing ethanol, comprising thesteps of: providing a crude ethanol product comprising ethanol, aceticacid, ethyl acetate, acetaldehyde, and water; separating at least aportion of the crude ethanol product in a first column in the presenceof one or more extractive agents into a first distillate comprisingacetaldehyde and ethyl acetate and a first residue comprising ethanol,ethyl acetate, and the one or more extractive agents; separating atleast a portion of the first residue in a second column to yield asecond distillate comprising ethanol and ethyl acetate and a secondresidue comprising the one or more extractive agents; and separating atleast a portion of the second distillate to yield a third distillatecomprising ethyl acetate and a third residue comprising ethanol.
 17. Theprocess of claim 16, wherein the one or more extractive agents areselected from a group consisting of water, dimethylsulfoxide, glycerine,diethylene glycol, 1-naphthol, hydroquinone, N,N′-dimethylformamide,1,4-butanediol, ethylene glycol-1,5-pentanediol; propyleneglycol-tetraethylene glycol-polyethylene glycol; glycerine-propyleneglycol-tetraethylene glycol-1,4-butanediol, ethyl ether, methyl formate,cyclohexane, N,N′dimethyl-1,3-propanediamine,N,N′-dimethylethylenediamine, diethylene triamine, hexamethylenediamine, 1,3-diaminopentane, and alkylated thiopene, dodecane,tridecane, tetradecane, chlorinated paraffins, and mixtures thereof. 18.The process of claim 16, wherein the one or more extractive agents arerecovered in the second residue and returned to the first column. 19.The process of claim 16, wherein the first residue comprises less than 5wt. % ethyl acetate.
 20. The process of claim 16, wherein at least aportion of the second residue is returned to the first column as the oneor more extractive agents.
 21. The process of claim 20, wherein thereturned portion of the second residue comprises less than 5 wt. %acetic acid.